


Furry Bundles of Joy

by Winner_of_the_disability_bingo



Series: Furry Bundles of Joy [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Animals love Zuko, Baby Animals, Gen, Not Beta Read, POV Zuko (Avatar), Sort Of, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is good with animals, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26007565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo/pseuds/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo
Summary: While in the South Pole, Zuko finds something interesting.
Series: Furry Bundles of Joy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887622
Comments: 18
Kudos: 302





	Furry Bundles of Joy

A week into banishment, Zuko had almost been ready to give up, but he couldn’t. His Father had entrusted him with this quest of redemption, and Zuko couldn’t let him down.

The crew had stopped at their final harbor before searching the Southern Air Temple when he found them. It was a colonized port town that had once belonged to the Southern Water Tribe, it was surrounded on all sides by ice, snow and water.

Zuko had gotten bored of Uncle’s browsing and had wandered over to the edge of the town, where the wood and brick met the icy tundra.

He had stood for several minutes before noticing an odd snuffling sound to his left. He had bent low and crept around the block of ice, not sure what to expect and prepared for a fight. Honestly still didn’t have much depth perception and the thought of using his bending still scared him, and it was even worse at the time, but no one else (except Uncle) had to know that.

Curled together in a small hollow against the ice, were three polar-dog puppies. The largest one was a light grey and had a large scar over its eye –which was missing. It had been the first to notice him. It had growled at him, alerting the other two. The three had stood, tails raised and puffed.

Zuko had stepped back, one hand raised, palm up, and the other reaching into his bag for some jerky he had bought earlier that day. Slowly, carefully, Zuko had brought the jerky closer to the pups. The largest had growled, but the second largest, almost as white as the snow it was standing on, had taken one sniff before launching itself at the meat.

Zuko had yelped in surprise before laughing softly when the pup had sniffed at his satchel. Zuko had pulled it out of the polar-dog’s reach and taken another handful of jerky out. He had given one portion to the white pup before holding out the rest to the two who were still against the ice.

The smallest one, who could not have been more than a few months old and so dark it was almost black, had hesitated before coming forward, ignoring the largest one’s indignant yip. It was then that Zuko had noticed the smallest one was missing one of its hind legs, giving it a limp when it walked.

The largest had growled but had come forward to join the other two. It had taken a few cautious sniffs of Zuko’s hand before taking some of the jerky.

When they had finished eating, the two smaller ones had nuzzled into Zuko’s side while the largest one had sat down and watched him warily.

Uncle had found him a few hours later. Zuko had had two of the pups in his lap, with the largest one on his shoulders. When Zuko had tried to leave with Uncle, the pups had followed. He had tried to shoo them off, but they were determined.

The townspeople had said that the pups had been abandoned by the pack, most likely because they were disabled. They had growled and scratched at anyone who went near them and had refused to eat the food left out.

After that, Zuko had decided to take the pups in for himself. They obviously liked him and needed someone to take care of them. He had always wanted a pet.

Zuko had ignored Uncle’s knowing look when he told the crew that the polar-dogs were staying with them.

-

It had been nearly three years since that day, and the pups were almost fully grown –all three taller than Zuko when on all fours and when on their hind legs, they touched the ceilings- and were completely attached to Zuko. They did just about anything he asked, Zuko was almost certain they could understand him, even if the rest of the crew didn’t believe it.

They made sure he got enough rest, and that he was never alone. They helped him come to terms with his Bending. When he was feeling good, Zuko would sometimes make shapes out of his flames and tell the polar-dogs the stories his mother used to tell him and Azula when they were young.

They had helped him search the Southern, Eastern and Northern Air Temples. The Northern Temple had been occupied, but not by Airbenders, so Zuko had left the temple almost immediately.

They protected and cared for him and in return, Zuko put everything he had into his training. Firebending, swordsmanship, martial arts, even gymnastics. He practiced it all so that he could protect them.

Fluffy was the eldest. Her missing right eye meant that she generally stayed on Zuko’s left side, so they could cover each other’s blind spots. She was the strongest of the three dogs and she usually won in arguments. She was also the cuddliest, once you had her trust. She would curl around Zuko and her siblings every night (Zuko had given up on trying to make them sleep in their own beds) and would lick and fuss over them at the first sign of them being hurt. She was the most protective and she almost refused to leave Zuko’s side, which was actually helpful sometimes, considering her intimidation factor. Her light grey coat was the thickest of the three, so Zuko regularly had to cut it so make sure she didn’t catch fire or overheat.

Zuko actually ended up learning how to knit and sow from the crew so that he could make clothes and blankets out of the spare fur. It was also great for trading, and, in turn, funds, so the ship wasn’t as ill-kept as it might have been otherwise.

Biter was the second eldest. He was named for his habit of chewing on anything that he could get in his mouth. his favourite thing to chew on was Zuko’s hand. He never bit hard enough that it actually hurt, so Zuko didn’t really mind. Bitey would often try to sneak into the kitchens to steal food. He was largely unsuccessful due to his snow-white fur being easily visible. He was the fastest of the three dogs, so if he did manage to get far enough into the kitchen to actually take food, he usually got away with it. Sometimes he would share his food with the other three. Coincidentally, those times almost completely lined up with when Zuko was feeling overwhelmed.

They didn’t actually realise why Biter was cast out of the pack until a few months into having him. Zuko had thought it was weird that he spooked when someone came up behind him, and that he needed to have orders repeated to him before he followed them. Eventually they had talked to a merchant with a deaf cousin, and Zuko realised what it was. After a few test, Zuko managed to confirm that Biter was significantly deaf. Not completely, but he definitely needed accommodations for it. Zuko was always careful to approach Biter from the front, and to exaggerate his movement so that the dog could better understand him.

Turtle was the youngest of the three, and the smartest. She got bored quickly, so Zuko taught her how to open locks and solve puzzles. Sometimes, on slow days Zuko would play hide-and-seek with the three pups. Turtle always won. Zuko would usually find her in the shadows, using her almost pitch-black fur to disguise herself. He could always lure her out with the promise of a bath, though.

Turtle loved baths. Zuko suspected it was because the water took the stress off her three good legs for having to carry weight meant for four. She would often spend their time at docks in the water, chasing fish or just swimming around.

All three pups had brown eyes so light they looked gold. People often told him that the colour was strange and unnatural, but Zuko knew it was a sign from Agni. He and the pups were meant to be together, Zuko would protect them, no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said this was part of a series but I might not write much more of this au. If you guys like it, though, I'll probably continue it.


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